Report for LST 325 for January 2003 from Gary Lyon Dated 31 January 2003 Click on any of the images for enlargements

In the real Navy, we respond, "Yes, Dear!"

The month of January started slowly.  Very cold and windy to work on deck.  We gave the crew the first week off and started in full speed on the 6th.  That Monday we had 18 great Blue Crew workers ready to go.  One new volunteer from Fairfax, VA, Robert Willard, reported aboard for two weeks.  A great worker, he could do anything we asked.  He helped on various jobs all over the ship.  It's easy when new people can do most anything.

The forward head has been gutted to the deck.  It took two men two days of pounding on the last Greek "BOMB SIGHT TOILET" from the crew's head.  George Pickett is head man down there.  Sounds funny ... "head man".  When new people come aboard now, we send them to George to break them in with needle guns.  After removing the bomb sight, they discovered the deck all rusted out (that doesn't seem possible on this ship) and you could see the compartment below.  Kenny and Anna Adams started patching the pipe and deck, then to the bulkhead.  The pictures show the problem.  The more they worked the worse it got.  Just like an old house.  Look at the picture of the long patch.

We have five different plumbers working various days.  They are re-piping the entire head for three toilets, four new showers, five original sinks and the new 50-gallon water heater.  We apologize to the old sailors that we have no troughs in the head.  With a lot of paint this will be a wonderful addition.  After that one worthless shower we had, anything is an improvement.

Collins Lawson, Wilber Lawson and Jerry Bailey are three great electricians who work on the lighting everywhere.  The refrigeration system on the 3rd deck is operational now.  All lights and fans work for probably the first time in ten years.  They are just about done wiring the two new stoves.  We are waiting for the next shipment of special wire we use from New Orleans.  Bill Arras is going to cook the first gourmet meal for the crew.  The guys will move to the port side living quarters next week to rebuild the wiring in the compartments.

John Hagaman from Minnesota and Robert Weachter from Michigan are great electricians also.  They come once a week from Gulf Shores, which is 70 miles away.  They have rewired the forward bow door lighting compartment that didn't work for years.  It's very hard to figure out what the Greek electricians did.  Al Weyand from Minnesota is working on wiring and motors.  He is from Gulf Shores also.  We have 16 from Gulf Shores, but they can't all come at the same time.  They all come over once or twice each week.  The only good thing about this cold weather is they can't play golf.  I tell them this is more fun than chasing a little white ball around a nice lawn.

We have three young college students that come aboard occasionally and, strange as it may seem, they like using the needle guns.  They are Daniel Ash, Anthony D'Lima and Brandi Criscione.  Great kids.  We also have a home school group of kids that also comes once a week.  They are Elizabeth Ash, Melinda Ash, Taylor Nelson, Andrew Strasburg, Roger Nelson, David Ash, Nancy Ash, Ken Hyatt, Mrs. Peckman and Roger Peckman.  They usually stay three hours and then head back to class.  They always thank us for letting them work on the ship.  We thank them.

Bill Arras and I just stand around and drink coffee and point to the work.  Boy, we have a tough life.  The only tough thing is they always want more material.  I stop at the electrical shop or hardware store three or four times a week, and go to Home Depot at night and on weekends.  Bill Arras picks up material on the way home each night.  I think Bill knows where 90% of the shops are in this town.  His knowledge of electric motors is amazing.  He says he never has had any training in electrical. Ha.

Vance Barnes drives 150 miles three days a week to keep up with the painting.  Larry Johnson drives 80 miles and Roe Karstetter 100 miles twice a week.  They do the heavy work.  They are retired Navy so they really know how to work.  Sue Johnson comes sometimes and helps Gayle in the office and also brings delicious homemade soup.  George Pickett and his wife Lee are here from Caledonia, IL, for four months.  Lee also helps Gayle in the office.  Barbara Toole comes in to help Gayle in the office also.  They will need more help soon, because fortunately the snowbirds are arriving. The women trade off days, just because it's so cold in the wardroom in the morning at 20 degrees.  We only have one small electric heater, so they wear coats all the time.  We really have had colder weather this year.  The tank deck is like a refrigerator.  You can never set your coffee down, because it's cold instantly.  The one good thing is it's colder in Minnesota. 

One of my pictures shows two men in the auxiliary engine room installing a new air compressor.  Walter Isham and Matt Mattoon are over 75 years old and work like 40-year-olds.  They took the compressor out of Bill's truck and lowered it down into the aux engine room and set it in place by themselves.  We always have to tell them when to take a break for lunch and when to go home.  They just love to work.  Walter said the more he works here the better his health is.  They both work two or three days a week.  They live in Mobile.  The best part of this job is meeting all the great people. 

On January 13th, Charlie and Jean Marking came from Lanesville, IN, to work and visit with Calvin and Pearl Ellison.  Charlie helped Dan Toole finish building the fifth (and last) ladder from the galley deck to crew deck.  Also, six more of the Adams family plus two friends came to work to join Ken and Anna.  Last week, Bill Arras drove to Lafayette, LA, to pick up a cylinder head for the No. 2 generator.  Garth and Jon Adams asked if they could put it on, and picked the head up and put it under their arms and walked up the gangway and down the port ladder to the tank deck and down into the aux engine room like it was their lunch sack.  It only weighs about 250 lbs.  They put a new piston in and had the engine running in three days.  Engine runs like a top.  When they come back in a couple weeks, they want to repair the forward fire pump below the tank deck.  Dole Brubaker is also from Covington, OH, and helped with electric motors and repairing the deck crane.  He also helped with the re-cabling of the LCVP ramp.

On Tuesday, Gay Rudrud, Jim Emarine from Minnesota and Jim Threlkeld from Mooresville, IN, came from Gulf Shores to start plumbing the starboard head for us.  They are terrific plumbers.

Jim Edwards is bringing a larger transformer for the AC power distribution on the ship.  The equipment to wire the ship's sound system is due any day now.  A company from Mobile will then start installing it.  This will be a state-of-the-art communication system.

We decided to have an appreciation dinner on Wednesday the 15th for all the Blue Crew we could round up. On Monday, the temperature got lower and the winds picked up, so I went to the Saraland VFW club to see if we could use their club for our feed.  I met with Charles Weaver, the Post Commander, who opened the doors to us.  Anything we needed, the kitchen or extra help.  The dining room was extra nice and they had all the equipment we needed.  We had about 70 folks there including all the workers on the ship at that time.  I thought we were especially clever to invite everyone to a pot luck, and have them bring the food already cooked.  Norm Dobson brought some fantastic sausage and cooked it to order.  Bill Arras and Paul Hannie were the Masters of Ceremonies, and did a terrific job.  We invited Capt. Hal Pierce and he jokingly told them no long speeches.  And it worked.  We especially want to thank Cdr. Charles Weaver of J. L. Thomas Post No. 7320 VFW Club of Saraland, AL, for the use of their fine facilities.  We noticed the note on the wall that Thursday was steak night, so about 24 of us came back for terrific steak dinners.  When we got there, I told the waitress there would be about 24 of us and her knees buckled.  Those girls did a great job and we will return.  It was a fine example of southern hospitality.  Ron and Barbara Maranto came to join us, as did Mr. & Mrs. Nelson and their son Eric from Schaumburg, IL.

Also, two people from the Dayton, OH, Daily News came to interview everyone working on the ship.  Bill Garlow was the photographer and Kelly Baker was the reporter.  They stayed five days here at The Brookley Center.  Mr. Garlow kindly gave us permission to use a beautiful picture of the ship that he took and retouched.  He removed all the clutter from around the ship, so that it looks like it's in a pristine setting.  [Ed. note:  I hope Mr. Garlow doesn't mind, but I took some liberties with his photo by vignetting it and adding the sun and rays.  This picture is now gracing the front page of the website.]

Frank and Pat Perrella from Albany, NY, came aboard to work a few days, and they loved it.  They are members of the USS Slater in Albany NY.  They want to return as soon as possible.  We learned a lot from them about restoring ships.

Look for the new picture of the ship with this posting and look very closely.  You will not find any UGLY ORANGE fence.  Ken, Anna, and Ann Adams worked every day finishing all the railings.  Thank you to all that worked on the deck lifelines.  They really dress up the ship.

If any of you are bored with winter and want to join the best, come on down to Mobile.  We always need electricians, plumbers, and painters.  We might even let you operate a needle gun.  If you need to lose weight, this is the place.  It's more fun than one of those gyms with all those skinny girls.

IN 15 WORKING DAYS UP TO THE 25th, WE HAVE LOGGED 1,585 HRS.  THAT'S WHY THIS SHIP WILL SAIL AGAIN.

     ~ Gary Lyon
 

Two weeks ago, our Bos'n and Treasurer Bruce Voges issued a call for donations to cover the purchase of a welder for the ship.  Enthusiastically answering that call were Ellis DeLay and Howard Buhl.  Mr. DeLay hails from LST 456, and is Vice President of the Arizona LST Association.  Mr. Buhl comes to us from LST 494 and is a long-time avid supporter of LST 325.  Not only is he a member of the Blue Crew, but he has also sponsored several other special projects for the ship in the past.

David Turner went one step further.  He is generously sponsoring the dedication of a gun tub to his friend William Beville (LST 457) through an Honorary Admiral Membership.  This will go a long ways toward getting the ship ready for sailing in June.

Many thanks to our loyal supporters!  Please remember that our successes are made possible only through this kind of private support.  Every contribution -- whether large or small -- helps to keep this ship alive and well.

Come June, you'll be seeing this proud ship set sail.  Either in person or on TV.  Imagine the pride you'll feel when you can say, "I helped make that possible!"  Please visit the Donation page to make your contribution today.

This CDROM slide show is now available through the Ship's Store.  Pick up several for your friends and relatives!

Many thanks go to Bob Flaugher, our hard-working volunteer, who has devoted an incredible number of hours to this project.  Well done, Bob!

Would you believe it?  We have just finished tallying the total number of volunteer hours donated on board LST 325 for last year.  It's a whopping 18,825 hours of hard work ... WOW!  What an incredible show of dedication, love and determination!

But that's not all, folks.  That's just the shipboard hours.  While there weren't any formal tallies kept, it's a good guess that a similar amount of time was spent by volunteers away from the ship.  Things like talks and tours, office work, donation solicitations, special events, planning, the website, people working across the country to help make our ship and The USS LST Ship Memorial the outstanding successes that they are.

Given the wide array of skills and talents brought to bear here, and the various rates of pay that they'd bring on the open market, it's fair to say that all this amounts to a MILLION-DOLLAR DONATION!  And that's just for Calendar Year 2002.  The volunteer work started long before, and will continue long into the future. 

How about you?  Have you been a part of it?  Would you like to be?  All hands are welcome.  Whatever skills you have -- or don't have -- you can play an important role in this exciting adventure.  Don't wait.  Get your hands dirty.  There's all sorts of work to be done.  VOLUNTEER!  You'll be welcomed with open arms.

In Memoriam, Harvey Blakeney

Cmdr. Harvey Blakeney (Ret.) of the LST 325 Blue Crew passed away on 02 January 2003.

Harvey served 30 years in Navy service.  He served as Executive Officer on LST 528 near the end of WWII.

Harvey was buried 04 January with a full military burial.  The Navy group came from Gulfport under the command of Cmdr. Pete Rihem of the Naval Armory, Lagan Park, Mobile, AL.

An honor guard from LST 325 consisting of Calvin Ellison, Pearl Ellison, Norman Dobson, Bill Arras, Harold Childers and Paul Hannie were in front of the casket at the graveside.

Harvey was very devoted to, and dearly loved, the LST 325.  A note in his obituary stated that memorials could be sent to LST 325.  This is a great memorial to Harvey.

     ~ Paul Hannie

Special Request from the Bos'n
Dated 10 January 2003

Bruce Voges, our Bos'n and Treasurer, is looking for one or more special donations to cover the cost of a welding machine.  As you've seen in these Progress Report pages, this ship requires quite a bit of welding work.  There's much more to be done before the voyage, and there will always be welding work to be performed on the ship.  The purchase of a welding machine will save many thousands of dollars for LST 325.

We have a quoted price of $1,150 for the particular unit that we're interested in.  We are currently paying more than $300 per week when we rent one.  That's not to mention the precious time spent on pickups and deliveries that could be put to much better use!

We have been using a Millermatic 210 that's been working just fine for us, so that's the model we'd like to get.  If you'd like to learn more about this particular unit, you can view a "Quick Specs" sheet or you can download a complete spec sheet (in Adobe Reader PDF format).

This can be a very important investment in LST 325 and her future.  If you're able to contribute the total amount -- or even just a portion of it -- please email the WebSkipper. Thanks!

I would like to locate all of the amateur radio operators who are currently involved with the restoration of LST 325.  I have been setting up the use of a special event amateur radio call sign for various events concerning the ship.  As an example, I was assigned the call sign W2T for the period 05-15 JUN 2002 to commemorate the anniversary of the landing at Normandy.  I also have the same call sign to commemorate the second anniversary of the return of LST 325 to the U.S. (in JAN 2001) for the period 05-15 JAN 2003.

If there are enough amateurs interested, we could keep getting special call signs which could be used by stations every time there is a special event concerning the ship, such as leaving Mobile on the 2003 cruise, the July 4th celebration in St. Louis, the visit to LST production center Evansville, IN, etc.  All I have to do is ask for a special call sign and it will be issued for a 10-day period.  If I can compile a list of hams who are "LST-prone" (along with their email addresses), I can get them involved in this program and keep getting the special call signs alternately issued to several hams over the next few months.  That way, LST 325 would be heard regularly on the ham bands even prior to the start of the 2003 cruise.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.  Please email me at bwild@earthlink.net.

     ~ Bob Wilder, AF2HD/AFA2HD,
             LST 325 Radio Room Project

Update from Michael Smith
Dated 06 January 2003
 

Click on any of the images
for enlargements

Report for 02-03 January 2003

I spent two days aboard the ship last week.  On the 2nd there were two chipping parties.  One group was up on the main deck, working on the aft end of the deck house.  They were chipping on the exterior bulkhead of the galley.  The other party was buried in the ship in the port shaft alley, continuing where some of the Adams clan had left off.  That’s where Naomi and I spent our day.  Both groups made great progress.  While the chipping crews were making all that racket, another group was on the tank deck working on the fire stations.  The valves have many years of build-up clogging up the works.  Each one has to be opened and repaired.  This was a messy job, but most things are on the 325.  Walter Isham and David Ash had the dirty, wet shirts to prove it.  The lighting restoration continues, as lights in the refers were getting some attention.

On the 3rd, I returned and Bill Arras put me and my friend, Ken Bruning, to work on mounting the new ranges to the deck in the galley.  Will Adams left behind some nice hardware he had made special for mounting the ranges.  (A personal note: Will Adams, we followed your helpful instructions  !!)  When the day ended, both ranges were secured to the deck.  After a little clean-up, they will be ready for some trial runs!!

     ~ Michael Smith

A personal note from the WebSkipper:  I'd like to encourage absolutely anybody and everybody to provide material for this page.  By no means are submissions here restricted to just certain individuals.  The whole purpose of this website (and especially this particular page) is to share information about our LST Memorial with the entire community.  Sitting here 2,000 miles away, I personally don't have a clue what's happening aboard the ship unless somebody tells me.  To date, I've posted absolutely every single tidbit of information that's come my way.  If you have any news to share at all, please just send me an email:  WebSkipper@LSTMemorial.Org -- all of us would be very appreciative, and we all want to know what's going on!

Legend: 

Archives:

Archive for December 2002:

• 29 DEC 02 - Progress Report for December 2002 from Gary Lyon
• 20 DEC 02 - A Note of Thanks
• 20 DEC 02 - The Time for Giving
• 20 DEC 02 - Have You Considered Your Legacy?
• 16 DEC 02 - Progress Report from Michael Smith
• 15 DEC 02 - Note of Appreciation from Doris Edwards
• 14 DEC 02 - Progress Report from Ron Maranto
• 09 DEC 02 - Great News for LST 325 from Capt. Bob Jornlin
• 09 DEC 02 - Donating Appreciated Securities
• 09 DEC 02 - Update on Michael Smith's Video Clips
• 05 DEC 02 - Progress Report from Michael Smith

• 28 NOV 02 - Progress Report from Dominick Perruso, Jim McCandrew & Corbin Fowkes
• 20 NOV 02 - Captain's Update from Bob Jornlin
• 18 NOV 02 - In Memoriam, Dewey Hardy
• 14 NOV 02 - Progress Report from Ron Maranto
• 07 NOV 02 - Note from Danny Sulkin
• 03 NOV 02 - Note re Hichael Nedeff's 24 OCT report

CDR Jackson Carter was LST 325's Executive Officer before and during the voyage back from Greece.  In addition to his normal duties, he was an avid ham radio operator and enjoyed communicating during his down-time with other hams all over the world.  He also maintained a website for LST 325 which included all of his situation reports, as well as  many photographs showing the hard work done in Greece getting the ship seaworthy – that site is a must-see for anyone who hopes to understand what it took to bring this ship home.  Most importantly, Mr. Carter was one of the finest human beings one could ever hope to meet.  He passed away just five weeks after finally realizing his dream.  This website now carries on the work – and the dream – where he left off, and in his memory.  Thanks, Jack ... for being you.    Fair winds!

In Memoriam Jackson Carter